cooking with brussel sprouts

[tielan]

We never had brussel sprouts as a kid. I think my mother cooked it once or twice, but we weren't huge fans. And they have a bad rap in general circles.

I once bet a friend that I could cook tasty brussel sprouts, but never had the chance to make good on my bet. But I figured with some butter and garlic and a dash of salt, how bad could they be?

A few months back, I was at Porteno's diner in Surrey Hills and I ordered the crispy brussel sprouts as a side dish, just to see what it was like. The answer? Utterly delicious. Chopped in half and either lightly fried or baked until the edges were crispy, mixed in with either garlic or onions and herbs... Very nice.

Anyway, at the markets on Saturday, I saw a small bag of brussel sprouts and figured, "oh, why the hell not" and bought them.

Since then, I've pan-fried them (garlic and salt, with garlic oil) and baked them (butter and white wine and garlic) and the results are pretty good. Not as good as Porteno's of course, but definitely edible and interesting.

What follows is my recipe for Ginger and Soy Chicken on a bed of Garlic And White Wine Brussel Sprouts.

It's more of a winter dish than a summer one and it's pretty fast in prep, actually! I usually pre-marinate meat, then freeze it to defrost-and-cook later.

Chicken marinade:
- fresh chopped ginger (about 2cm/1" piece, chopped fine)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brandy, sherry, or white wine

Mix the chicken pieces (any fillet) into the marinade and leave overnight, then either cook or freeze for later use.

Chicken and Brussel Sprouts Casserole
- 1 serve marinated chicken meat, cut into strips no bigger than 2cm/1"
- 8 brussel sprouts
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 1 cube of butter (about 2cm/1" square, chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin strips

Dot the butter on the bottom of the casserole dish, lay the garlic among it. Cut the brussel sprouts in half and lay them face-down in the dish. Pour over the white wine and salt/pepper to taste. Lay the chicken on top of the brussel sprouts and pour over any leftover marinade.

Cook at around 200C for at least 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. (My chicken was a really big piece of breast, so I had to do it 20 mins on one side, then flip it over and 12 minutes on the other - the brussel sprouts were a little softer than I like, but next time I'd chop the meat up into smaller portions so they cook faster.)

It sounds intensive, but it took about 5-10 mins to prep and put in, and about 30 to cook. And the brussel sprouts were really nice in the butter/white wine combo with the garlic.

The quantity is pretty much for one person, but you can increase the amounts of stuff accordingly - it's not tricky.